NSB-05-142
November 3, 2005
National Science Board
2020 Vision for the National Science Foundation
DRAFT FOR PUBLIC COMMENT
NATIONAL SCIENCE BOARD
Terms Expire May 10, 2006
Nina V. Fedoroff, Willaman Professor of Life Sciences and Evan Pugh Professor, Huck Institutes of Life Sciences,
The Pennsylvania State University, University Park
Jane Lubchenco, Wayne and Gladys Valley Professor of Marine Biology and Distinguished Professor of Zoology,
Oregon State University
Diana S. Natalicio, Vice Chair, President, The University of Texas at El Paso
Michael G. Rossmann, Hanley Distinguished Professor of Biological Sciences, Purdue University
Daniel Simberloff, Nancy Gore Hunger Professor of Environmental Science, Department of Ecology and
Evolutionary Biology, University of Tennessee, Knoxville
Warren M. Washington, Chair, Senior Scientist and Section Head, National Center for Atmospheric Research
John A. White, Jr., Chancellor, University of Arkansas, Fayetteville
Mark S. Wrighton, Chancellor, Washington University in St. Louis
Terms Expire May 10, 2008
Barry C. Barish, Linde Professor of Physics and Director, LIGO Laboratory, California Institute of Technology
Ray M. Bowen, President Emeritus, Texas A&M University, College Station
Delores M. Etter, ONR Distinguished Chair in S&T, Electrical Engineering Department, U.S. Naval Academy
Kenneth M. Ford, Director, Florida Institute for Human and Machine Cognition
Daniel Hastings, Director, Engineering Systems Division and Professor, Aeronautics and Astronautics and
Engineering Systems, Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Elizabeth Hoffman, President, University of Colorado System
Douglas D. Randall, Professor of Biochemistry and Director, Interdisciplinary Program on Plant Biochemistry and
Physiology, University of Missouri-Columbia
Jo Anne Vasquez, Mesa, Arizona Public Schools (Retired)
Terms Expire May 10, 2010
Dan E. Arvizu, Director, National Renewable Energy Laboratory
Steven C. Beering, President Emeritus, Purdue University, West Layfayette
G. Wayne Clough, President, Georgia Institute of Technology
Kelvin K. Droegemeier, Regents' Professor & Roger and Sherry Teigen Presidential Professor; Weathernews
Chair of Applied Meteorology; Director, Center for Analysis and Prediction of Storms; and Director,
Sasaki Institute, University of Oklahoma, Norman
Louis J. Lanzerotti, Distinguished Research Professor, Center for Solar-Terrestrial Research, New Jersey
Institute of Technology
Alan Leshner, Chief Executive Officer, American Association for the Advancement of Science
Jon C. Strauss, President, Harvey Mudd College
Kathryn D. Sullivan, President and CEO, Center of Science and Industry
Member ex officio
Arden L. Bement, Jr., Director, National Science Foundation
~~~~~
Michael P. Crosby, Executive Officer, National Science Board, and National Science Board Office Director
DRAFT FOR PUBLIC COMMENT, November 3, 2005
National Science Board
2020 Vision for the National Science Foundation
Preamble
“Given the constrained funding environment, it is even more critical that the National Science
Board develop a long-term vision for NSF. In other words, we need a strategy that outlines how
we can get the biggest bang for our buck through programs and activities supported by NSF.
This does not mean how NSF will alter its grant size and duration. This means articulating a
vision for the future of science and technology, including the next bold cutting-edge areas of
research. We also need a plan on how NSF will lead the research community in meeting these
new bold challenges. The Board is ideally suited for this responsibility and I believe strongly
that it is a core activity of the Board’s mission. One of the specific areas that the Board should
examine is the future of our Nation’s math and science education.” Chairman Kit Bond, Senate VA
HUD Appropriations Hearing, February 17, 2005.
Mission
“To promote the progress of science; to advance national heath, prosperity, and welfare; to
secure the national defense; and for other purposes.” National Science Foundation Act of 1950.
2020 Vision
The National Science Foundation ensures that the Nation maintains a position of eminence in
global science, technology and knowledge development, through leadership in transformational
research and excellence in science education, thus driving economic vitality, an improved
quality of life, and national security.
Strategic Priorities
To achieve this 2020 Vision, the Foundation will focus on three Strategic Priorities:
•
Strategic Priority 1 - Ensure the Nation maintains a position of eminence at the global
frontier of basic and transformational research, emphasizing areas of greatest scientific
opportunity and potential benefit to the Nation.
•
Strategic Priority 2 - Sustain a world-class science and engineering (S&E) workforce
and develop a scientifically literate citizenry.
•
Strategic Priority 3 - Ensure the Nation’s basic research capacity in critical S&E
infrastructure, facilities and tools.
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DRAFT FOR PUBLIC COMMENT, November 3, 2005
History
The National Science Foundation (NSF, the Foundation) is one of our Nation’s most vital
institutions, playing a key role in placing the U.S. at the forefront of research and innovation
globally. The Foundation’s investments in research, technology, and education have produced
a rich cascade of benefits to the Nation that include fundamental new ideas, vital new
technologies, and a vibrant network of pioneering people and institutions. This has formed a
strong basis upon which countless business innovations continue to flourish, contributing
significantly to our knowledge base, to our economy, and to the standard of living Americans
have enjoyed for decades.
The Foundation is a successful organization that many nations strive to emulate. Its
effectiveness and efficiency are well known. No other institutional mechanism has proven so
effective at producing knowledge, technology, and expanding human capacity in scientific and
technical fields.
The context in which the Foundation operates has changed significantly in the past few years.
Through the process of globalization, more nations are attaining technical and workforce
capacities that can compete successfully with ours. At home, there are concerns that the U.S. is
slipping in research, technology innovation, and education — three essential pillars of success in
the 21st century. Last, but by no means least, the Federal Government faces much tighter
constraints upon, and demands for, discretionary budget dollars. For any organization, public or
private, such profound shifts in the
“Americans believe that advances in S&T were
operating framework compel leaders to do
the nation’s and the government’s greatest
a comparably profound, incisive reachievements during the 20th century.”
examination of the organization’s vision,
Pew Research Center for People and the Press, 1999.
goals, and priorities.
According to the legislation that brought it into being, the Foundation consists of the National
Science Board (NSB, the Board) and the NSF Director, who is also a member of the Board. This
partnership, unique among Government agencies, has served the Foundation and the Nation
exceptionally well. The National Science Board serves as the policymaking arm of NSF and
approves its budgets and priorities. Through its ongoing reviews and its approval of major
programs and awards, the Board provides continuous oversight of the Foundation’s priorities and
insures the excellence of its standards and processes. The Board also provides oversight of the
implementation of its grant-making policies and of its financial and accounting practices. The
National Science Board is uniquely positioned to provide, in consultation with the broader S&E
community, a new 2020 Vision for NSF. This 2020 Vision for NSF provides the overarching
framework for a new strategic planning process that will be led by NSF management and
brought to the Board for final approval.
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DRAFT FOR PUBLIC COMMENT, November 3, 2005
More than half a century ago, Vannevar Bush stated a set of principles concerning the national
science enterprise that remain largely valid today. In Science, the Endless Frontier (1945), Dr.
Bush affirmed the vital importance of new knowledge – obtained through basic scientific
research – to ensuring the Nation’s health, prosperity, and security in the modern world. Bush
also recognized the essential role of a well-trained technical workforce in creating this new
knowledge; recognizing that the scientific frontier would advance slowly or rapidly, depending
on the number of highly qualified and trained scientists exploring it. Further, Bush asserted that
because the Nation’s health, prosperity, and security were all proper concerns of Government,
scientific progress must be of vital interest to the Government. Bush went on to lay the
groundwork for a National Research Foundation that would serve the national interest by
promoting scientific research and education. Today, this institution is known as the National
Science Foundation, and it is recognized worldwide as the gold standard for supporting basic
research and education.
More than 50 years later, it is clear that
“...new knowledge is perhaps the single most
NSF’s impact has been nothing short
important driver of economic growth and the
of monumental. Ideas first conceived in
most precious and fully renewable resource
the laboratories of
available to individuals and societies to
NSF-funded researchers have
advance their material well-being. Economic
underpinned new technologies, led
advantage rests increasingly on the ability to
to multi-billion dollar industries, helped
exploit new scientific and technological
create new jobs, and benefited countless
advances. Robust support for basic research
lives. Fiber optics, radar, wireless
assures a deep reservoir of knowledge and
communication, magnetic resonance
provides flexibility and choices for addressing
imaging, ultrasound, and even the
future needs.”
Internet could not have occurred
National Science Board Strategic Plan
NSF-supported research in the basic
(NSB-98-215), 1998, page 2.
S&E. An NSF-supported study found
that 70 percent of the scientific papers
cited in U.S. industry patents came from science supported by public funds and performed at
universities, government labs, and other public agencies. 1 NSF research has also proven
essential to address the security challenges facing the Nation. For example, the geographic
information systems used to coordinate efforts at the World Trade Center were based on NSFsupported research.
NSF has played a vital role in developing a U.S. science and engineering workforce that is
second to none. Each year, NSF supports more than 200,000 people – teachers, students, and
researchers – many of whom go into industry and help create new technologies, products, jobs,
and company start-ups. The Foundation has also filled a vital niche in advancing the American
public’s understanding of science and its importance to our Nation’s economy and security.
1
Francis Narin, Kimberly S. Hamilton, and Dominic Olivastro, “Increasing Linkage Between U.S. Technology and
Public Science,” Research Policy 26, No 3 (December 1997): 317-30.
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DRAFT FOR PUBLIC COMMENT, November 3, 2005
Federal Fiscal Realities for the Early 21st Century
In 2002 Congress recognized the vitally important role that S&E play in society by
overwhelmingly approving the National Science Foundation Act of 2002
(P.L. 107-368). This Act authorized a doubling of NSF budget over 5 years, to a total of almost
$10 billion by FY 2007.
in millions of dollars
Appropriations for the National Science Foundation
(FY 2000 - 2007)
$10,000
NSF Act of 2002
Authorization
$9,000
$8,000
$7,000
$6,000
$5,000
$4,000
$3,000
$2,000
$1,000
$0
FY '00
FY '01
FY '02
FY '03
FY '04
FY '05
FY '06
FY '07
( request )
In response to a legislative directive and in order to plan for this budget expansion, the National
Science Board prepared Fulfilling the Promise: A Report to Congress on the
Budgetary and Programmatic Expansion of the National Science Foundation
(NSB-03-151) that recommended focusing these new funds on six vital objectives:
•
Improving the productivity of researchers and expanding opportunities for students.
•
Opening new frontiers in research and education.
•
Building a diverse, competitive and globally engaged U.S. S&E workforce.
•
Increasing the number and diversity of institutions that participate in NSF-funded
activities.
•
Providing scientists and engineers with advanced tools, facilities, and cyberinfrastructure.
•
Maintaining NSF’s excellence in management.
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DRAFT FOR PUBLIC COMMENT, November 3, 2005
This report set out specific plans for beneficial use of the authorized increases and showed in
detail how an even larger increase could be deployed to benefit the Nation greatly. The National
Science Board believes the increases reflected in the 2002 authorization and the additional
amounts discussed in the Board’s report would have had a significant beneficial impact on the
long-term economic strength of our Nation.
Unfortunately, due to subsequent events constraining the Federal budget, these congressionally
authorized increases have not occurred. Moreover, a constrained budgetary environment is
likely to persist into the foreseeable future given the budgetary requirements of competing and
urgent national priorities.
The challenges in today's landscapes are many. The leadership of NSF – the National Science
Board and NSF Director – faces difficult decisions that require new solutions. These challenges
will be addressed by enunciating a new 2020 Vision for NSF and developing a strategic plan that
responds to the strategic priorities provided in this document.
Science and Engineering Research and Education Investment
Principles
Given the difficult financial constraints controlling the annual appropriations for NSF, the
National Science Board believes that NSF must creatively utilize its funds to address the
challenges inherent in these four overarching investment principles in order to enable strategies
for reaching near-term goals required to achieve the new 2020 Vision for NSF:
•
Investment Principle 1 - Focus on research at the frontiers of innovation, creativity, and
transformation.
•
Investment Principle 2 - Achieve an increase in the number and diversity of individual
researchers and students supported by NSF, recognizing the need for balance with
average award size and duration.
•
Investment Principle 3 - Achieve an appropriate balance in the NSF research portfolio
between the support of centers and individual principal investigator (PI) grants, with a
focus on increasing the number and diversity of individual researchers and students
supported by NSF.
•
Investment Principle 4 - Achieve an appropriate level of annual investment in NSF
management excellence, including support for personnel and operational systems.
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DRAFT FOR PUBLIC COMMENT, November 3, 2005
Near-Term Goals for Attaining 2020 Vision for NSF
The profound shifts in the Federal budgeting landscape that have taken place since the
Congressionally authorized doubling of funding for NSF have required a re-examination of the
means by which to maintain the vitality of the Nation in the S&E research and education
enterprise. Within current budgetary constraints, utilization of the investment principles outlined
in the previous section will be employed to achieve the following near-term goals necessary for
advancing the strategic priorities and realizing the 2020 Vision for NSF:
•
Near-Term Goal 1 - NSF Leadership will develop a strategic plan consistent with
the Strategic Priorities, Investment Principles, and Enabling Strategies set by the
Board that emphasize appropriately the areas of greatest scientific opportunity and
potential benefit to the Nation.
The National Science Foundation is unique among other Federal agencies that support
science: while other agencies have prescribed mandates among different fields of S&E
research, NSF is charged with supporting a comprehensive research portfolio considering
all fields and disciplines of S&E. In navigating today’s constrained budget environment,
NSF must remain science-driven and agile in order to respond quickly as new
opportunities for S&E research and education emerge within the scientific community.
This will demand difficult decisions, and draws into focus the need for state-of-the-art
methodologies that can be used to inform priority-setting in, and among, scientific
disciplines. NSF must develop a strategy for how it will more efficiently and effectively
nurture and support areas of greatest scientific opportunity and potential benefit to the
Nation.
•
Near-Term Goal 2 - NSF will strengthen opportunities for supporting
transformative research.
The National Science Foundation mission must be to support the most innovative and
potentially transformative research – research that has the capacity to revolutionize
existing fields, create-new subfields, or cause paradigm shifts in thought. Ongoing
review and evaluation make clear to the Board that the Foundation’s current solicitation,
review and selection processes must evolve, in some respects substantially, in order to
achieve the transformative potential the Board envisions. NSF must create an
environment that welcomes and encourages such proposals from the research community.
The Board has recently critically reviewed the NSF system of merit review and found the
system to be sound. 2 The Board fully supports the current NSF system of merit review,
which utilizes the peer review process as the principle driver in funding decisions.
2
National Science Board. Report of the National Science Board on the National Science Foundation’s Merit Review
System, September 2005, (NSB-05-119)
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DRAFT FOR PUBLIC COMMENT, November 3, 2005
Further, the Board believes that NSF program officers play a vital role in the success or
failure of proposals for potentially transformative research. Therefore, it is essential that
NSF ensure program officers have the necessary time, resources, and upper management
support to exercise their scientific expertise and judgment in making funding
recommendations. Empowering program officers not only allows the Foundation to fund
the most promising and exciting science, but it also enables NSF to attract the most
qualified and motivated individuals to serve as program officers.
•
Near-Term Goal 3 - NSF will increase the impact of its contribution to
strengthening science, technology, engineering, and mathematics education.
NSF is the principal Federal agency responsible for science, technology, engineering, and
mathematics (STEM) education at all levels – K-12, collegiate, and centers of informal
education in science and discovery. Education in S&E is a core mission for NSF, the
importance of which has increased as the Nation confronts the growing needs for S&E
talent in the workforce and for national science literacy in the interest of the Nation’s
long term prosperity, security, and quality of life. NSF must ensure a diverse and broadly
trained S&E workforce, and assist in educating the public so that it understands the
contributions of science and technology to the Nation’s economy and to their everyday
lives. To address the growing needs to improve U.S. STEM education, NSF must
strengthen and deepen collaboration across the agency in research and education and
ensure sustained excellence through rigorous evaluation. Proven practices that strengthen
STEM education must be translated and transferred by NSF for implementation by our
Nation’s formal and informal education providers.
•
Near-Term Goal 4 - NSF will ensure that new and more diverse generations of
faculty are given significant opportunities for research funding.
The Nation’s universities are vital institutions both for maintaining the strength of the
U.S. basic research enterprise and for producing individuals with advanced S&E degrees
to serve in the workforce. The Nation has done less well in encouraging and developing
the mostly untapped potential of underrepresented minorities, women, and persons with
disabilities. Developing this potential, especially to advance underrepresented minorities
into the professoriate, will lead to expanded opportunities for individuals as well as
improving national competitiveness and prosperity. NSF must encourage post-secondary
institutions to achieve greater faculty diversity with thoughtfully conceived and executed
programs for recruiting and retaining S&E faculty from underrepresented minority
groups. NSF must ensure ample levels of funding for early career Ph.D.’s as they are the
next generation of S&E faculty essential for the continued vitality of U.S. universities.
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DRAFT FOR PUBLIC COMMENT, November 3, 2005
Enabling Strategies
The following enabling strategies serve as the primary vehicles for focusing on and achieving the
near-term goals and strategic priorities established by the Board in this document. These
enabling strategies are designed to build upon and reinforce NSF's strengths.
•
Enabling Strategy 1 - NSF must improve its impact in developing a scientifically
literate citizenry and strengthening STEM education.
There are three important venues of education: K-12, university, and informal
institutions. Capitalizing on the Foundation’ s core mission and strengths by focusing on
high leverage points in the formal and informal education systems, will maximize the
impact of the Foundation’s programs and funds on our Nation’s critical needs. A priority
for NSF education programs should be to enhance the integration of the research
enterprise with education. In particular, NSF should strategically utilize the ability of
informal science institutions to improve the teaching of S&E in schools, and to serve as
natural bridges between academia, the general public, and our school communities. The
Foundation must re-evaluate and re-focus its varied education programs to improve
linkages with basic S&E research.
Discovery in S&E depends on an ample well-trained and highly qualified workforce,
consisting of skilled practitioners with two- or four-year degrees and beyond, researchers
and educators with advanced degrees, and pre-college science and mathematics teachers.
Recent analyses suggests that two long-term trends threaten the strength of this
workforce: 3 increasing global competition for S&E talent; and a likely decline in the
number of native-born STEM graduates entering the workforce. These trends will persist
unless the Nation is able to more successfully train STEM students from all demographic
groups. To improve its impact in this area, NSF must ensure the strongest and most
effective link for university research outreach with K-12 and informal science educators.
•
Enabling Strategy 2 - NSF must provide the advanced tools, facilities, and
cyberinfrastructure in order for researchers to do transformational research.
NSF will provide researchers and educators with access to the most advanced tools,
facilities, and cyber-infrastructure. The development and availability of new tools has
opened vast research frontiers and fueled technological innovations in fields as broad as
biotechnology, imaging for heath and medicine, nanotechnology and communications. In
the recent decade, funding for academic research infrastructure has not kept pace with
rapidly changing technology, expanding research opportunities, and the increasing
3
National Science Board. The Science and Engineering Workforce: Realizing America’s Potential, August 2003,
(NSB-03-69).
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DRAFT FOR PUBLIC COMMENT, November 3, 2005
number of users. Moreover, many research questions can only be addressed with the use
of new generations of powerful technological tools. These new tools will make scientists
and engineers more productive, and enable them to undertake more complex tasks and
research problems. Investments in infrastructure are needed to be focused on:
information technology research, midsize infrastructure, large facilities projects,
cyberinfrastructure, and educational and training opportunities.
•
Enabling Strategy 3 - NSF must strengthen the communication within, and modes
for supporting, international and interagency partnerships, and must explore the
potential value-added of new and innovative partnerships models.
By its very nature, S&E is global, and recently, the significance of science and
technology in the global context has grown dramatically. The global economy that
emerged in the second half of the 20th century, resting on highly articulated
communication and information infrastructure, increasingly relies on knowledge and
innovation for its growth and core processes. The worldwide exchange of ideas will
continue to fuel economic growth in advanced economies at the same time that it enables
less developed nations to catch up and potentially to skip time-draining and ecologically
destructive intermediate steps. Science and technology not only can, but must contribute
both to the generation of new opportunities and benefits and to the solution of problems.
Given the extraordinary – and growing – importance of science and technology as we
move into the next century, there is a need for a fresh look to ensure, on both Federal and
NSF levels, a coherent strategy that supports a productive relationship between scientific
and foreign policy objectives. The benefits of scientific knowledge and communication
have broad societal significance; in a contentious world, bilateral and multilateral
cooperation in science and technology help build stable relations on the basis of mutual
benefits. International collaborative activities, particularly those that involving younger
scientists and engineers are increasingly necessary for training a globally engaged STEM
workforce. NSF should be a forward thinking leader in developing new models for
international cooperation in S&E research and education.
•
Enabling Strategy 4 - The Foundation must maintain the excellence of NSF staff and
management.
The rapidly quickening pace of discovery, character of research, and demands for quality
science education have placed a substantial new workload on NSF staff and management.
NSF’s excellence depends on maintaining a diverse, agile, results-oriented NSF
workforce that operates in a continuous learning environment. The NSF workforce and
management infrastructure must have access to new technologies and leading-edge
management approaches to maintain efficiency, effectiveness, and properly serve the
Nation’s research and education communities.
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DRAFT FOR PUBLIC COMMENT, November 3, 2005
Conclusions
Our Nation depends on the creation and use of new knowledge to generate jobs, ensure a high
quality of life for its citizens, and maintain global pre-eminence in discovery and innovation
throughout the 21st century. The National Science Foundation is internationally respected for its
effectiveness in identifying and supporting people and ideas that advance critical scientific
understanding, help create useful technologies, and expand human capacity. Other nations are
emulating NSF’s model and are investing heavily in their scientific enterprises. Through the
process of globalization, technical expertise and S&E workforce capabilities are being cultivated
and employed outside American borders. America’s long-standing competitive advantage is
slipping.
Compounding these trends, increasing demands and tightening constraints on Federal
discretionary budget dollars have substantially reduced the required growth of NSF investments
in fundamental research that can ensure the development of the next generation of scientists,
engineers, and STEM educators. The tragic consequence of the confluence of these factors will
result in significant lost opportunities, a slower pace of our Nation’s science and technology
advancement, and diminished position in the global marketplace for innovation.
The Board has prepared this report, National Science Board 2020 Vision for the National Science
Foundation (NSB-05-142), to address these constraints. The Board’s overarching vision
statement, in conjunction with strategic priorities, critical investment principles, near-term goals,
and enabling strategies, will guide the Foundation as it addresses new challenges in a complex
fiscal and operational environment. Successful implementation of this vision will serve the best
interests of our Nation by significantly enhancing the vitality, creativity, and productivity of the
U.S. science and engineering enterprise.
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